Birth year

Born in 2012? Here's your year in charts

In 2012, the top baby names were Sophia and Jacob, a dozen eggs cost $1.84, a gallon of gas cost $3.63, unemployment averaged 8.1%, a newborn could expect to live 78.8 years, and the world had 7.18 billion people.

Top baby names of 2012

Girls

  1. 1. Sophia 22,336 babies, 1.3% of girls
  2. 2. Emma 20,976 babies, 1.2% of girls
  3. 3. Isabella 19,138 babies, 1.1% of girls
  4. 4. Olivia 17,333 babies, 1.0% of girls
  5. 5. Ava 15,549 babies, 0.9% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Jacob 19,110 babies, 1.0% of boys
  2. 2. Mason 18,994 babies, 1.0% of boys
  3. 3. Ethan 17,697 babies, 0.9% of boys
  4. 4. Noah 17,385 babies, 0.9% of boys
  5. 5. William 16,917 babies, 0.9% of boys

From Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S.; names given to fewer than 5 babies are left out. Pick a name to see how many babies got it every year since 1880.

2012 then vs. now

  • A dozen eggs

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    $1.84 in 2012, compared with $2.27 in September 2026

    Average price of grade A large eggs in U.S. cities.

  • A gallon of regular gas

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    $3.63 in 2012, compared with $4.36 in September 2026

    Average U.S. retail price.

  • Unemployment rate

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    8.1% in 2012, compared with 4.2% in September 2026

    Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.

  • Life expectancy at birth

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    78.8 years in 2012, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

    How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.

  • People in the world

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    7.18 billion in 2012, compared with 8.22 billion in 2025

    World population at mid-year.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 2012.

$100 in 2012 buys about as much as $146.75 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates